You Better Make It Back
by hunter 139
Summary: "Hey, it's me. I'll find a way." Missing scenes from Dark Waters, Stratosphere and more.
1. Dark Waters

**Well this idea just popped into my head, so I decided to write it down. As stated in the description, this is what I think are a couple of scenes that are missing from the episode Dark Waters.**

 **This technically is in the same universe as my story Atmos Campaign, but since this takes place well before that particular story, I decided to have it as a completely separate one-shot.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks.**

* * *

Things had been looking up. The Storm Hawks had located Triton and the Neck Deeps, blocked off the entrance to the Endless Caverns after drawing those creatures back inside. Despite losing I.J. Domiwick, the mission had all but been a complete success, or so they thought. Until they learned that they had missed one of the creatures.

It had attacked the ship, tearing a hole into the hull and leaving it to flood. The Condor was sinking. The attack from that creature had torn a hole in the hanger, leaving the modified airship to sink to the bottom of the Aquinos lake, the submersible skimmers lost to the depths forcing the Storm Hawks to abandon ship.

And, to make matters even worse, there were only five breathers.

"My breather!" Piper desperately looked around, and immediately realized. "Domiwick took it!"

Aerrow didn't hesitate.

"Hurry, take mine." He passed it to her but she refused.

"No, Aerrow-"

"There's no time to argue." He pointed out. "There's still two miles between us and any more air."

"So what?" Finn asked, his voice distorted from his breather's speaker. "You're just going to go down with the ship?"

"I'm not giving up on the Condor yet." The Sky Knight responded. "There's still a chance we can save her if the engine room doesn't flood."

"But you'd have to close it from inside the access duct!" Junko pointed out.

"Which I won't be able to do in a bulky breather." Aerrow said, firmly pushing his helmet into Piper's arms, making it clear that there was no room for debate. Piper looked into his eyes, he gave her a nod and a reassuring smile.

With a small sigh, Piper took the breather in her hands, closing her eyes as she reluctantly accepted it. Then with she opened them and fixed Aerrow with a firm, determined look. Grasping his collar, she only had one thing to say.

"You better make it back."

"Hey, it's me." Aerrow said, giving a confident smile. "I'll find a way."

* * *

Soon, the rest of the team had begun swimming out into the lake. The only people still onboard the Condor were Aerrow, Piper and Radarr. The latter did not want to leave his best friend alone.

"I'll be fine, Radarr."

With a whimper, Radarr finally acquiesced and dove into the water. That just left Piper, who was standing at the edge of the water with Aerrow's helmet still in her hands. Aerrow walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Piper?"

She turned and looked at him, her orange eyes meeting his green eyes. She held a look of concern and fear in her eyes and a small dejected frown on her face. "You need to get going." Piper turned and looked back at the water, then back at him.

"I'll be fine, I promise."

Instantly, Piper turned to fully face him and cupped his cheek with her free hand, pulling Aerrow closer, she pulled his lips to hers. Aerrow was surprised for a second, then closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist. After a few seconds, she broke away, with her forehead against his.

"You better."

The creaking of the Condor reminded the two of them that they needed to hurry. Donning Aerrow's breather, Piper gave one last look at the Sky Knight who once again gave her a reassuring smile, before she jumped into the water and joined the rest of the team.

Meanwhile, Aerrow watched as the Storm Hawks swam their way to the surface, then made his way to the access duct. Taking a deep breath, he dove into the water, which bitterly bit at his skin. He ignored the discomfort as he swam to the engine room. He had promised Piper he would make it, and he had no intention of breaking that promise.

* * *

At the edge of the dock, the Storm Hawks gathered, sitting exhausted from swimming two miles. Piper wasn't concerned about that now, instead focusing on the air bubbles that had to mark where Aerrow and the Condor were.

"Come on, Aerrow."

She desperately wanted to see the Condor rise from the depths, with Aerrow at the helm. The alternative would be- Piper halted that train of thought. He would make it. He had to. He was too strong for the alternative.

That was what she thought, up to the point when the bubbles stopped rising. Her heart shattered in that instant, as a sob threatened to escape her. This was all her fault. If she had kept a better watch on Domiwick, Aerrow wouldn't have had to give up his breather for her.

That feeling of depression welled up in all of the Storm Hawks for a split second, just before something exploded from the water. Stork screamed and everyone else cringed at the sight, only to gain a feeling of awe as they saw what it was.

It was the creature from the cavern, blasted high into the air by the maelstrom. And on top of its back, silhouetted against the moonlight and gasping in a lungful of air as if just breathing for the first time, was-

"Aerrow!" She cried, clenching her fists in happiness, no longer caring about exhaustion.

She watched as gravity overtook the creature and Aerrow, who started plummeting back towards the lake. But while the creature fell, Aerrow deployed his glider wings and flew towards the dock, retracting them and landing just after the creature hit the water with a splash.

The Storm Hawks cheered and ran to Aerrow, who looked a little unsteady on his feet. Junko reached the Sky Knight first and supported him while the rest of the Hawks gathered around. They were all thrilled at the Sky Knight's survival, Piper especially. It had been a close call, far closer than Piper would've liked, but he had made it.

* * *

An hour later, having explained what happened to the Neck Deeps, Triton swore that the shipwrights would be able to recover the Condor in the morning. For the night though, the Neck Deeps happily provided the Storm Hawks with accomodations for their rest, a relief for the exhausted Storm Hawks.

Piper, despite her exhaustion, couldn't sleep, and once everyone else was out, quietly crept into Aerrow's room. This was her chance to see him without any of the others interrupting them. Opening the door, she saw Radarr asleep at the foot of Aerrow's bed, but to her surprise, the Sky Knight himself was still awake.

"Hey." He smiled, gesturing for her to come in.

"Hi." She sat down at his bed, careful not to disturb Radarr's sleep. "How're you feeling?"

"Never better." He said, before stifling a yawn. "Tired, though."

"Then why are you still awake?"

"I could ask the same about you."

Her expression fell slightly, which Aerrow didn't fail to pick up on.

"What's wrong?"

She stood up and looked away, feeling the weight of her guilt knawing at her. She had felt the same way when her miscalculations had sent him on a wrong course in the exosphere, but unlike that time, the guilt was still lingering.

"Piper." She looked back and sighed.

Piper sat down on the bed, looking at the floor. Aerrow put his hand around her shoulder and pulled her closer. Any other time, she would've melted into his embrace, but now, she found it more difficult this time around.

"It's my fault you were trapped down there." She said, tears clouding her eyes. "If I had kept a better eye on Domiwick-"

"Hey, hey." He pulled her into a full embrace with both arms wrapped around her. "It's not your fault. The only one we have to blame for that is Domiwick."

She wrapped his arms around him, her head on his shoulder.

"When I saw the bubbles stop, I-I thought you were gone."

"Well, I promised I would come back, didn't I?" He said boisterously. "I keep my promises."

She giggled in spite of herself. She always admired Aerrow's confidence, it was one of the aspects that she loved about him. He never questioned whether or not something could be done, he just went out and did it. It was something she was a little envious of, to be honest. Still, there was one thing she had to know.

"Did you honestly believe you'd make it out?" Aerrow was silent for a moment before answering.

"Yeah, I did."

"How?"

"Because I had you to come back to. That's all the motivation I need."

Piper rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless, which Aerrow returned. It was sappy, but she didn't mind. It was rather charming in its own way. She looked at the clock and yawned as she realized just how tired she was.

"You should get some rest." Aerrow said, stifling his own yawn. Piper didn't move.

"Can I stay here tonight?"

Aerrow paused, then smiled and patted space beside him. She got into bed beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Putting his hands over her shoulders, Aerrow pulled her closer and softly kissed her, before nuzzling into her neck.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Comfortable in each other's arms, the two exhausted Storm Hawks fell asleep. After a moment, Radarr briefly opened one eye and churred happily before falling back to sleep himself.

* * *

 **Honestly, there are several times between scenes where there are fairly obvious time skips. Personally, I think something like this could've happened at the given points during this episode. If you can think of any other episodes where I could write any similar scenes, I might consider making this into another series of one-shots.**

 **Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this little one-shot and reviews are always welcome.**


	2. Stratosphere

**Well, I've found myself rather enjoying the previous one-shot, so here's another one. It takes place at the end of the episode "Stratosphere," where Aerrow and Piper are standing on the deck. What will happen? Read on to find out?**

 **Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Storm Hawks.**

* * *

Aerrow stood on the Condor's balcony, simply gazing up at the stars. It was hard to believe everything that had happened over the last day: Flying up to the Stratosphere to destroy Ravess' battle platform, then being launched up to the Exosphere to stop the Cyclonian weapon. He had even managed to get a glimpse of the Far Side of Atmos during that voyage.

Now though, the Storm Hawks were simply sleeping after such a long day, but Aerrow couldn't sleep in spite of himself. He simply couldn't stop thinking about what he had had seen, what he had done. He broke the record, going further than anyone had ever gone in the atmosphere, and even caught a glimpse of the place no one in Atmos had ever seen before. His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Aerrow?" The Sky Knight turned and saw Piper standing behind him. Apparently she couldn't sleep either. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No, not at all." He said, implicitly inviting Piper to join him as he returned his gaze to the stars. Piper came up beside him, in a mirror of his own posture. She looked at him.

"You really did it." She said warmly, feeling pride for him, for all of them.

"I guess so." He said simply, still taking it all in.

"What was it like?" She asked, curious to know just what her Sky Knight had experienced.

"It's..." His mind was once again crowded with the memories and thoughts of everything that had happened and ultimately, anything he could say to describe would only pale in comparison to the actual experience. "... hard to find the words."

After a moment, Piper shrugged with a small smile on her face. "Who needs words?" She nudged him with her elbow. "At least you got pictures, right?" She teased.

Aerrow rolled his eyes with a smile in regards to a joke, but looked away with a small frown. He had wanted to give the rest of the Storm Hawks a glimpse of the same experience he had, but his lousy photography skills had messed that up. Piper noticed his expression, and put her arm around his shoulder, with a small grin on her face. The two of them returned their gaze to the stars, as a shooting star flew past in the night sky.

The two Storm Hawks just stood there for a while, enjoying the night sky, and each other's presence. Piper was just happy to be here with him, especially considering how close she had been to losing him in the exosphere. She didn't want to think about that right now; she'd rather be much closer, and it seemed the Sky Knight wanted the same thing.

Soon, Aerrow had his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. In response, she rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contently. Then a question entered his mind, one which he had to ask out loud.

"Do you think there's intelligent life out there?"

"Uh, maybe." Piper looked at him in confusion. "What makes you ask that?"

"I don't know, just thinking out loud." Aerrow replied.

"Well, you have just gone further than anyone in Atmos ever has." The navigator responded. "I can see why you'd be wondering that."

"True enough. It's hard to imagine that we're alone."

"I guess so." Piper turned her gaze back to the stars. "And to answer your question, I think it's possible, though I don't know if we'll ever meet some."

"I suppose so." The Sky Knight replied, pulling her closer as they gazed upwards. "Still, you have to wonder."

"Yeah..." She murmured.

Piper put her head back on Aerrow's shoulder as he held her closer, just treasuring the moment with him. All to soon though, she felt herself getting tired. A yawn escaped from her lips, causing the Sky Knight to look at her in amusement.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Yeah." Piper sighed. "I'm going to go to bed." She kissed him on the cheek. "Good night Aerrow."

She moved to leave, but acting on a sudden impulse, Aerrow grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. Wrapping his other arm around her waist, he pulled Piper into a passionate kiss. Her hand threaded through his hair while her other hand gripped his shoulder. His hands were wrapped around her back. After a moment, they broke off, with breathless smiles on their faces.

"So, we just felt the need to do that, did we?" Piper said, then quickly added. "Not that I didn't enjoy that or anything."

"Well, I just thought it was a good backdrop." Aerrow replied, gesturing to the skyline. Piper had to agree; it was beautiful.

"Can't argue with that." She grinned, and pulled him closer as they kissed again.

She forgot how tired she was for a moment as she deepened the kiss. She savored the feeling of his lips on hers, the soft feeling of his hair in between her fingers. Eventually, they broke off, a tired smile on Piper's face, matching Aerrow's.

"Good night Piper."

* * *

 **So, I'm thinking of making more one-shots like this, with moments between Aerrow and Piper that could've conceivably taken place during or after some of the episodes, in no particular order.**

 **Also, that little conversation about intelligent life is a bit of a call-forward to the Atmos Campaign, where the world is under attack by aliens. So, Piper's line about not meeting aliens becomes very ironic later on.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


	3. Cyclonia Rising Pt II

**Alright, here's the next episode, this one taking place after the events of both parts of Cyclonia Rising.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks.**

* * *

The Condor flew through the portal, which promptly sealed shut behind them. With Stork at the helm, the rest of the Storm Hawks stood on the deck, staring in wonder at the landscape ahead of them. Beautiful glowing stone and cliffs dotted the ground, as massive flying creatures flew overhead, their calls echoing throughout the land. And standing out in the backdrop was a massive tower that stretched into the skies.

The mysterious lands of the Far Side were here for the Storm Hawks to explore, and none of them could help their amazement. "Dude!" Was all Finn could say. Radarr churred in a combination of wonder and agreement.

"This is going to be fun." Aerrow finally found his voice.

The five of them just looked around in wonder for a while (and Stork must've done the same, since he was unusually silent at this point), before the Merbian helmsman called them over the intercom.

"Um guys, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're kinda low on supplies, and our own rides are totaled." The Merb pointed out. "Add in all the potential hazards in an uncharted land, and we're looking at our horrific and agonizing deaths."

"He does have a good point." Piper admitted. Aerrow nodded in agreement.

"Stork, find someplace to set us down." Aerrow ordered. "Somewhere nice and secluded."

* * *

It had been a long day for the Storm Hawks, having rescued the Sky Knights, caused the fall of Cyclonia and pursued Master Cyclonis to the Far Side. After everything that had happened, Aerrow had ordered that the Condor be set down so they could assess the damage and their supplies.

Fortunately, they had enough leftover materials to rebuild their skimmers and weapons, and could likely get more crystals and supplies from somewhere on the Far Side. For now though, they decided to stay away from the city for the time being. No telling if Cyclonis had already gained allies at this point, and it was better to be safe and sorry with so much of their circumstances being unknown.

Now, the rest of the Storm Hawks were getting some sleep, exhausted from everything that had happened. But Piper and Aerrow were still awake, something that had seemed to be increasingly common for the two of them.

The two of them had been together for a while now, hiding their relationship from the rest of the Storm Hawks. Considering what the rest of the guys, especially Finn, were like, Aerrow and Piper really wanted their privacy.

Now, things had changed even more: Ever since Piper discovered her ability to use the Binding, they had become even closer, which culminated in what Cyclonis called 'Perfect Attunement.' Before, the usage of the Binding had made Piper's well being suffer, which terrified Aerrow, who had never felt so helpless in his life.

But when the two of them had activated Perfect Attunement during the fight against Cyclonis and the Dark Ace, Piper's health and energy had been restored, allowing the Sky Knight and the Crystal Mage to beat the two Cyclonian leaders.

It also seemed to have some side effects that they had quickly discovered in the last few hours; at times, the two of them actually felt each other's thoughts and emotions, which wasn't actually that much of an issue to either of them. Having known each other for a long time, this actually had the benefit of bringing Aerrow and Piper even closer than they had ever thought possible.

Of course, this also brought them to their current predicament, as Aerrow waited until night time before heading to Piper's room. He couldn't deny that he was a bit nervous about this, and he could feel from his connection with Piper that she was as well.

They hadn't actually gone this far in their relationship before, preferring not to rush things. Oh, they had slept in each other's beds together more than once, but they had never actually done this. But the multitude of times they had nearly died, with their last bout against Cyclonis and the Dark Ace being the closest they had ever come to dying... well, neither of them wanted to wait any longer.

It was at that moment that Aerrow entered Piper's room, the door silently closing as he entered. She was sitting on her bed, turning to look at him as he walked through the door. She looked beautiful.

"Hey."

"Hi."

Their attempt to remain casual didn't last very long. In seconds, the Sky Knight and the Crystal Mage were on each other, their lips practically glued together as his hands wrapped around her waist while hers went around her neck. Eventually, the need for air broke them apart, and they just stared into the others eyes, their foreheads gently touching. It was Aerrow who broke the silence.

"Are you sure about this?" Aerrow asked.

Piper's response was to pull him closer and hungrily kiss him again, leaving him struggling to keep up and at the same time desperate for more. Their hands roamed each other's bodies, hating the clothing that was impeding their progress.

"I want this." Piper asked as they broke apart to breathe. "And I know you do too."

She reached for the hem of his shirt and started pulling, Aerrow quickly assisting and taking it off. Not wanting him to be alone, Piper pulled at her own shirt, tossing it aside in time to allow Aerrow to reclaim her lips with his own.

* * *

Piper was the first one to wake up the next morning, snuggled up against Aerrow. Her head was on his chest, the sound of his heartbeat in her ear, and the small breeze from his breathing in her hair.

Shifting slightly, she moved her head so she could gaze at his face; she loved how he always looked so innocent when he slept. He shifted slightly in his sleep, his hand brushing down her leg, causing her to give a contented moan.

At the sound, Aerrow stirred, his emerald eyes opening slowly before gazing into hers. Leaning down, he kissed Piper again, his hand around her waist and pulling her closer to him.

"Good morning to you too." She giggled when he broke off the kiss.

"Last night was-"

"Amazing." Piper finished for him.

Breathing softly, she melted into Aerrow's embrace, just enjoying the moment with him. Her fingers idly traced imaginary patterns on his chest, while his own hands played with her hair, his arms still wrapped around her.

"I love you." Aerrow whispered into her ear.

"I love you too."

They weren't sure how long they stayed there, just lying on the bed enjoying each others presence. As the fog of sleep vanished, Piper started feeling hungry for him again, and through their connection, he knew that she wanted more, and honestly so did he.

He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply, before planting kisses down her jawline and neck. She bit her lip in an effort to hide her moans, then leaned in to suckle on his ear in retaliation.

"Ready for round 2?" She whispered huskily.

He responded by kissing her again, and rolling them both over until she was lying on top of him. She broke off with a gasp as his hands caressed her thighs and lost herself in his emerald eyes.

"Always."

...

Finn walked through the halls of the Condor, heading to the kitchen for a snack. He was hoping that he would actually be able to get something good before Junko started cooking. As he headed for the kitchen, he passed by the door to Piper's room, rolling his eyes with a smirk as he passed by.

He had already seen that Aerrow's room was empty, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where he was. Still, he was nice enough to give them some privacy, no matter how much he wanted to tease them both.

...

Hours later, the Storm Hawks were dressed, awake and prepared for anything. With everyone recharged from a good night's sleep, the Storm Hawks manned their stations as the Condor took off into the air, on a mission to explore the Far Side and stop Master Cyclonis once and for all.

* * *

 **Alright, well that ends this latest one-shot. I hope it was to everyone's enjoyment. Now, I'm not sure what episode I'll do next, though I am considering doing one or two more one-shots for scenes from Cyclonia Rising proper, though I'm not sure when I'll get to that.**

 **Also, if you have any suggestions for episodes, don't hesitate to leave a review telling me. I'm not sure when I'll get around to them, but I will try to write one-shots for them.**

 **With all that said, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.**


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